Escapement mechanism for typewriting-machines



H. K. HENRY.

ESCAPEMENT MECHANISM FOR TYPEWRITING MACHINES;

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 18, 1918. 1,362,696.

3 SHEETS-SHEEI I.

five/2207f Patented Dec. 21, 1920,

H. K. HENRY.

ESCAPEMENT MECHANISM FOR TYPEWRITING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED ']AN.18, 191B.

Patented Dec. 21, 1920.

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H. K. HENRY.

ESCAPEMENT MECHANISM FOR TYPEWRITING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 18, 1918.

' Patented Dec. 21, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

with the heads 20 at UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HUBERT K. HENRY, OF DETROIT,

REX TYPEWRITER COMPANY CORPORATION OF VIRGINIA.

ESCAPEMENT MECHANISM FOR TYPEWRITING-MACHINES.

1,362,696. Original application filed February 4,

1915, Serial No. 6,127.

Specification of Letters Patent. I Patented Dec. 21, 1920.

Divided and this application filed January 18, 1918. Serial No. 212,497.

To allwhom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, HUBERT K. HENRY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Detroit, county of Wayne, and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Escapement Mechanism for Typewriting-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to escapement mech anism for typewriters and seeks to provide a simple and effective escapement mechanism. A further object of the invention is to provide an escapement which is adapted for use on a front-strike typewriter having a vertically shifting carriage bed.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectionfrom front to rear of a typewriting machine with the present improvement applied thereto. Fig. l is a detail view of parts shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 2 is a partial longitudinal section with parts shown in shifted position. Fig. 3 is a partial rear elevation of the machine with the back plate removed.- Fig. 4 is a view in elevation of the escapement mechanism with parts shown in section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a detail section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the carriage and carriage bed.

The machine frame comprises sideplates 10 connected at their lower front and rear corners by the vertically disposed trans verse plates 11 and 12 which are provided at their ends with the usual feet 13. The upper forward portions of the side plates are connected by a vertically disposed transverse plate 14 and at a point somewhat in front of their rear ends the side plates are connected by a vertically disposed type-bar support or segment 15, each end of which is fixed to one of the side plates by screws 16 (see Fig. 3).

.The upper forward portion of the typeba'r support is "provided with a forwardly rojecting flange 17 which is provided with radial slots for receiving the rear ends of the type-bars 18, the latter being mounted upon a pivot rod 19. The type-bars are normally arranged in horizontal position their forward ends resting upon a segmental support 21. The key levers 22 are provided with keys 23 at tuate the same by upwardly their forward ends which are arranged in rows or banks at the front of the machine frame. The levers are pivotally mounted intermediate their ends upon a series of pivot rods 24 arranged in horizontal series between the side plates 10, the key levers of each bank being mounted upon one of the pivot rods. The rear ends of the key levers are connected to the type-bars to acextending links 25. Light return springs 26 coiled about the pivot rods 24 engage the levers 22 and extend downwardly to a cross transverse bar 27 A space-bar 28 is fixed to the forward ends of a pair of arms 29 which are mounted on one of the pivot rods 24 and are connected at their rear ends by an integral cross-bar 29. The space bar is held in normal position with a stop 30 thereon engaging a flange 31 on the front crossbar 11 of the machine frame.

In the preferred construction shown, the paper carriage track or bed, the ribbon mechanism and the escapement mechanism are all mounted on a vertically shifting frame so that any of the three sets of type carried by the type-bars can be brought to the printing point. The shift frame comprises uprights 32 at opposite sides of the machine, having forwardly and rearwardly projecting arms 33 and 34 at their upper ends. The forwardly projecting arms carry the spool shafts 35 and casings 36 for the ribbon spools and the rearwardly projecting arms support the carriage track or bed 37. The rear edges of the uprights 32 abut against the front face of the type-bar segment and the front edges thereof are engaged by adjustable guides 38 secured to the side plates 10. Guide-shoes 39 fixed to the rearwardly projecting arms 34- engage the inner faces of the side plates. The lower ends of the uprights engage a transverse rod 40 which is mounted upon the rear ends of a pair of arms 41, the forward ends of which are fixed to a rock shaft 42. Shaft 42 is journaled in side plates 10 of the machine frame and one of the arms 41 is provided with a forwardly projecting extension 43 having a pair of shift keys 44 and 45 at its forward end. The shift frame and parts carried thereby are held in normal position by gravity with stop pieces 46 (see Fig. 4) enga ing the upper edgesof the side-plates 10. %he weight of the shift frame and parts carried thereby .is partially counterbalanced by one or more springs 47 (see Figs. 1 and 3).

The shift key 44 is fixed to the forward end of the extension 43 andthe shift key 45 is mounted upon an arm 48 pivoted at 49 to the 6 extension or lever .43 and having a depending lug 50. A spring 51 extending between the lever 43 and lug 50 normally holds the latter against a stop 52 on the lever. When the shift key 44 is depressed, the parts are arrested by the engagement of the short lever or key 48 with a stop-screw 53, and the carriage supporting frame and parts carv or plate 56 which fits between the guide' flanges 55 and is provided with down-turned and inwardly inclined flanges 57 which rest upon the carriage, supporting bed plate 37. The plate 56 is also provided with upturned ends 58 which support the cylindrlcal platen 59, and a transverse rock shaft 60 arranged in the rear of the platen. A, paperfeed table or plate 61 extends downwardly and forwardly in the rear of and beneath the platen, and is provided with ears 62 extending rearwardly therefrom and engaging the rock-shaft 60. p

The carriage is propelled by a springdrum 63 mounted in a bracket 64 on the underside of the carriage bed 37. The upper portion of the drum extends upwardly through an opening in the carriage bed and one end of a strap 65 is connected up and wound about the drum. The opposite end of the strap extends towardthe right between the carriage and carriage track and is connected by a hook 66 (see Fig. 4) to the right-hand end of the carriage. Theescapement which controls the letter-space move-. ment of the carriage is preferably mounted upon the shiftin frame and moves vertically therewith. For this purpose, a bracket 67, of invertedU-shape, is fixed to the under face of the ca riage bed 37 and at the rear central portion thereof. This bracket has down-turned ears and also an upwardly and rearwardly projecting part .68 having at its upper end an inwardly offset stop-lug 69. is connected to the bracket 67 by a horizontal pivot pin 71 and is provided with forwardly extending arms 72 which bed is preferably support a pivoted dog-rocker. A bent or U-shapedarm 73 (see Fig. 1) is fixed to the yoke and extends upwardly therefrom through an opening in the bracket 67. A spring 74, coiled about the pin 71, engages one of the arms 72 and holds the yoke .70 and parts carried thereby in normal position with. the arm 73 engaging a stop-screw 75 which is adjustably threaded throughthe upright 68:: I

A dog-rocker 76, like the other parts of the escapement, is formed preferably of sheet metal and is T-shaped in outline, as most clearly shown in Fig. 4. The horizontal arms 77 at the upper end of the dog-rocker are provided with pivot studs 78 at their ends which engage bearing openings in the forward ends of the arms 72. A pair of screws 79 and 80 are threaded through the upper portion of the dog-rocker,'one above the other, and are provided with shouldered forward ends and threaded rear ends, the

latter serving to secure a fixed dog 81 to ally mounted on the shouldered portion of the upper screw 79 and its lower end or tail is arranged between the upper ends of a pair of spring arms 83 and 84. The lower ends of the latter are integrally connected and are fastened to the lower end of the dogrocker by a pivot screw 85. The springs 83 and 84 are adapted to bear upon the lower end or tail of the spacing dog 82 and also upon the shouldered front end of the screw 80. I

The upper portion of the dog-rocker and the dogs thereon extend through an opening in the carriage bed or guide 37 into engagement with a rack-bar 86 fixed to the under; side of the horizontal carriage plate" 56, The spacing dog 82 normally engages the rack-teeth and the tension of the spring drum 63 holds the spacing dog in the position shown in Fig. 4, with the dog against a stop lug 87 on the'upper end of the dogerocker and with the spring 84 under tension. Whenthe lower end of the dog-rocker is shifted rearwardly, as shown in Fig. 2, its upper portion is swung forwardly and the spacing dog 82-is moved out of engagement with the rack and the fixed dog 81 into engagement therewith. The spring 84 then swings the spacing dog 82 about its pivot so that, when the dog-rocker swings back, it will engage the next tooth of the rack and permit. the letter-space'movement of the carriage. The shift of the spacing dog, effected by the spring finger 84, is limited by the spring finger 83, but when the carriage is drawn back toward the right, the upper end of the spacing dog may be swung about-its .pivot toward the right against the tensionof the spring 83. The spacing dog is also provided with a lug 88 which, while it permits the.

operates with the lug 87 to prevent the displacement of the dog.

it should be noted that the lugs 87 and 88 formrigid stops for limiting'the movement of the spacing dog about its pivot and the free upper ends of the spring arms or fingers 83 and 84 form oppositelyacting, yielding stops for the pivoted spacing dog, while the front end of the screw or pin 80 limits the action of the yielding spring-stops or fingers upon the spacing dog.

The lower end of the dog-rocker is connected to an actuating shifter 89 by a screw 90 which extends through a vertically slotted part 91 of the shifter and through a forwardly turned lug on the lower end of the dog-rocker. The rear end of the shifter 89 is connected by a swinging link 92 to a lug 93 on the lower rear cross bar 12. The upper front portion of the shifter is connected by a pivot pin 94 to a coupling member 95, and the latter is adjustably connected by screws 96 to the central portion of a universal bar 97. The latter is of segmental form and extends above'the type-bar segment in position to be struck by the type-bars when the latter are actuated, as shown in Fig. 2. At points adjacent its ends, the

universal bar 97 is connected to the upper,-

forwardly projecting ends of a pair of arms 98 which are arranged in the rear. of the typebar support of segment 15. Preferably the arms 98 and the universal bar 95 are formed of a single piece of pressed sheet steel. The arms 98 are fixed at their lower ends to a rock shaft 99, the reduced ends of which are journaled in bearings 100, the latter being suitably mounted in the side plates 10. A

spring 101 (see Fig. 3) is coiled about the and actuating shifter 89 permits the vertical shift of the dog-rocker with the carriage The link 92 serves to supporting frame. maintain the slotted bars 91 substantially vertical as the universal bar is rocked rearwardly, so that the throw of the dog-rocker is substantially uniform in the different vertical positions of the carriage shift frame. The shaft 99 is provided with a forwardly extending arm 103 which rests upon the rear cross-bar 29 of the arms 29, so that the space-bar 28 also serves to actuate the escapement dog-rocker. The arm 103 is bent upwardly, as shown, so that it does not interfere with the vertical shift of the'bar or rod 40.

In the ordinary operation of the escape-,

ment, the dog-rocker oscillates in the yoke and the latter is held stationary with the upwardly projecting arm 73 in engagement with the stop-screw 75. By shifting the upper end of the arm 7 3 forwardly, the yoke 70 may be rocked upon the pivot pin 71 to depress the arms 72 and the dog-rocker carried thereby, and thus move the escapement dogs out of engagement-with the carriage rack and permit the free lateral'shift of the carriage. For this purpose the U-shaped arm 7 3 is provided with an upwardly projecting portion 73 which extends behind and engages the rear face'of a vertically disposed transverse rock-bar 104. This bar is provided at its ends with rearwardly turned lugs 105 thatare fixed to the pivot rod or rock shaft 60. By rocking the shaft the transverse rock bar 104 is oscillated and the upper end of the arm 7 3 is shifted forwardly to release the escapement. The engaging portions of the parts 7 3' and the bar 104 extend above and below rock shaft 60, so that the engagement ofthese parts tends to hold the bar 104 and shaft 60 in central position, and, by oscillating these parts in either direction from normal central position, the end of the arm 73 may be moved in forward direction to release the escapement. For shifting the, pivot rod or rock shaft in opposite directions, a finger-piece 106 is fixed to the right-hand end thereof and preferably outside the right-hand endv plate 58 of the carriage. The rock shaft 60 is journaled in rearwardly projecting portions or ears 107 on the carriage end plates 58 and the finger-piece 106 is provided with inwardly projecting lugs l08 which are arranged in opposite sides of the adjacent ear 107 and serve to limit the movement of the release key and parts connected thereto, which, as described, can be shifted in opposite directions to release the carriage from its escapement and the operator can then shift the carriage by hand toany desired position.

A stop supporting l;ar""109' extends between and is fixed to the rear ends of the lugs 105. A pair of margin stops 110 are adjustably mounted on thisbar and are arranged to cooperate with the fixed stop lug 69' to limit the movement of the carriage in opposite directions. One or more tabulator stops 111 are also adjustably mounted on the stop supporting bar or rod 109. The margin and tabulator stops are formed of sheet metal, bent to extend about the stop bar 109,

as most clearly shown in Fig. 1, and are adjustably heldin ilposition upon the rod by. set-screws 112 or the like. The margilf steps have rearwardly and downwardly projecting lugs 113 which are in position to engage the fixed stop 69, whatever may be the position of the stop supporting bar 109, which, of course, oscillates with the rock shaft 60 and transverse "bar 104.

The upper portion of each tabulator stop is provided with a rearwardly projecting lug 114 which, in the normal position of the stop-rod, passes over the upperend of the fixed stop 69, but by shifting the release key 106 rearwardly, the bar 109 and stops thereon will be lowered and the lug 114 of each tabulator stop brought in line with the fixed stop 69. At the same time the bar or plate 104 will be shifted to effect the release of the escapement and the carria e can then be moved by hand until the ta ulator stop engages the fixed stop. By shifting the upper end of the finger-piece 106 forwardly, the carriage may be released without throwing the tabulator stops into operation. Preferably, the screws 112 which hold the margin and tabulator stops in place are arranged to engage seats 115 formed in the upper edge of the stop bar 109 at letter-space distances apart.

A combined ribbon vibrator and type-bar guide 116 is pivotally mounted between its ends upon .a bracket 117 which is fixed to the front guide flange of the carriage track. The lower downwardly and rearwardly extending end portion of the ribbon vibrator is arranged to be engaged by an arm 118 which projects forwardly from the dogrocker 76. In this way the combined ribbon vibrator and type-bar guide is oscillated to and from theprinting point by the escapement mechanism. The ribbon spools are mounted onshafts 35 in front of the platen and at opposite sides of the machine and within the casings 36. Gears 119 are arranged to connect the spool shafts to a horizontal worm shaft 120. This shaft is journaled in the support 121 (see Fig. 3) which is shiftably mounted onthe under side of thecarriage bed or track 37 so that-worms 122 'on opposite ends of the shafts can be alternatel engaged with the gears 119 for driving t e spool shafts. 123, centrally'fixed to the worm-shaft, is ar- A ratchet wheel ranged to be engaged by push-and-pull pawls 124 and 125 which are pivoted on a lug or bracket 126 fixed to the escapement dog-rocker 76, and these pawls are connected by a spring 127 which holds them in operative engagement with the ratchet wheel123,

so that the shaft is rotated as the escapement dog-rocker is oscillated. The escapementmechanism, ribbon vibrating and feed mechanism, as described, are all mounted on the vertically shifting carriagesupporting frame and are all properly operated by the universal bar and actuating shifter 89 in the diflt'erent'shifter positions of the carriage supporting frame. I [It is obvious that changes maybe made in the details set forth without departure from the essentials of the invention as defined in bination'zwith a platen, platen carriage and upwardly Land rearwardly striking typebars, of a vertically shifting support for said carriage, anescapement mounted on said support and including a vertically disposed, swinging dog-rocker, a horizontally shifting universal bar cooperating with said type-bars, swinging rock arms pivotally mounted at their'lower ends and connected at their upper ends to said universal'bar, an actuating member interposed between said universal bar and said dog-rocker and means cooperating with said actuator for maintaining the throw imparted to said dogrocker uniform in the different positions of said vertically shifting support.

2. In a front-strike typewriter, the combination of a platen, platen carriage and upwardly and rearwardly striking typeb'ars,'of a vertically shifting support for said carriage, a horizontally shifting universal bar cooperating with said type-bars,

supporting arms for said universal bar depending therefrom and pivotally mounted at their lower ends, an escapement for said carriage including a vertically swinging dog-rocker pivotally mounted on said shifting support, an actuator connected to said prising uprights and a carriage bed fixed to said uprights, a rack fixed to the under side of said carriage, a vertical swinging dogrocker pivoted on the under side of said carriage bed, dogs on said rocker extending upwardly through an opening in said bed, into engagement with said rack, a segmental universal bar cooperating with said type-bars and arranged in front of the lower end of said dog-rocker, supporting arms for said universal bar depending therefrom and pivotally mounted at their lower ends, and connections between said universal bar and said dog-rocker arranged to permit the vertical movement of the latter with said carriage bed.

4. In a front-strike typewriter, the combination with a platen and upwardly and rearwardly striking type-bars, of a vertically disposed type-bar support having a forwardly projecting slotted segment at its upper portion wherein said type-bars are pivoted, a segmental universal bar arranged above said segment, a rock shaft journaled in the lower portion of the machine frame in rear of said segment, supporting arms projecting upwardly from said rock shaft, said universal bar being connected to the upper ends of said supporting arms and an escapement actuated by sald universal bar.

5. In a typewriting machine, the combination with the carriage, carriage bed and propelling means for said carriage, of an escapement rack connected to said carriage, a vertically disposed dog rocker pivotally mounted on said carriage bed, fixed and pivoted escapement dogs mounted on said rocker and projecting upwardly through an opening in said bed into engagement with said rack, said rocker and said pivoted dog having cooperating rigid stops for limiting the movement of the latter upon its pivot, and said pivoted dog having a depending tail orlug, a pair of substantially parallel spring-arms pivoted at their lower ends to said dog rocker and having free upper ends engaging and oppositely acting upon the tail or lug of said pivoted dog, and a pin fixed to said dog rocker and arranged between-the free upper ends of said spring-arms for limiting the action of said arms upon said pivoted dog, substantially as described.

6. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a carriage and carriage bed,

of an escapement rack connected to the carriage, cooperating escapement dogs, a rocker whereon said dogs are mounted, a normally stationary, vertically movable support for said rocker mounted on the carriage bed and spring-held in normal position, and means on the carriage for shifting said support to disengage said'dogs from said rack.

( 7 In a typewriter, the combination with gage said dogs from said rack.

HUBERT K. HENRY. 

